A last minute appeal from forty five russian athletes and a two coaches against a doping related ban failed their lawyers branded the decision sanctions in disguise while this was the official announcement made by sports highest court. Gus arbitrators of concert at the process created by the i. O. C. To establish an invitation list of russian athletes to compete. From russia could not be described as a sanction but rather as an eligibility decision so there you have it according to the court of arbitration for sport ridding the russian athletes of their olympic invitations isnt equal to punishment and the cast is perfectly happy with the criteria that the i. O. C. Initially shows for these invitations the president of the World Antidoping Agency is pleased he says that the timing is great and that all the clean athletes should now be reassured the i. O. C. Are happy too they have applauded the verdict as you can see and this tweet though the russians are obviously totally devastated i
A diet of cliches about russia. Russia is still very much seen through a post soviet lens as the successor to the soviet union and somehow or other images of. Starvation in the country of extreme cold discomfort of. The kinds of things that unfortunately still linger and you wrote the whole book to address some of those negative stereotypes and i think you have a very unusual take for a western or former western diplomat. When it comes to russia because. I think theres a lot of understanding theres also a lot of compassion in your book and i really appreciate that but i will want to ask you whether you ever felt that you are giving this country an easy pass i dont think i think that the majority of the content of my book. Deals with the sometimes very disagreeable parts of russias history ive got a chapter on the leg museum ive got a chapter on the Jewish Museum of tolerance and i and i talked very frankly in those two chapters of some of the black spots in russias history and i think
A former professional diplomat for thirty years and i was an ambassador to poland and. The mother asked postings. I felt i had a certain responsibility to my own society to say look we are being fed. Bad fantasies about russia the real russia is not what were being told about. I want to go and i want to see what its like and my process of disenchantment from the western Propaganda Machine against russia it really began pretty much in interest and fourteen with the events in ukraine and the way in which they were being reported now i hope we will go into the ukrainian events a little bit later on into the program but. You mentioned the this negative image of russia and russia is definitely not an easy country its a very complex society its sometimes a very contorted country and i think we the russians are the first to you know an experience that and i think that actually goes to the very notion of russian patriotism and loving russia is its a bit like caring for the disabled loved one y
Basic decency towards this country has become so does your mental conditioning and mutual propagandizing to the point where people come to believe each other if they keep telling each other thats good you know if you if you repeat lies often enough they become the truth and when youve got people in in time Media Communities who are constantly referencing each other with attitudes and opinions that really have no basis in fact unfortunately fulfill turn to will to fulfill to the reality takes hold and i found when i decided to come to russia i was confronted by my friends and my colleagues in canberra which is the Government Center of australia with all sorts of illusions once you get outside moscow people will be stuffing better not get sick in moscow you in russia you wont be looked after properly all rubbish but the. Point is these have become general beliefs and i felt was a former ambassador for whatever authority i still had and whatever credibility i still had. I want to put it t
Seen through a post soviet lens. Of success the strike to the soviet union and somehow or other images of. Starvation in the country of extreme cold discomfort of rudeness of the kinds of things that unfortunately still linger and you wrote the whole book to address some of those negative stereotypes and i think you have a very unusual take for a western or former western diplomat. When it comes to russia because. I think theres a lot of understanding theres also a lot of compassion in your book and i really appreciate that but i would want to ask you whether you ever felt that you are giving this country an easy pass i dont think i think that the majority of the content of my book. Times very disagreeable parts of russias history ive got a chapter on the leg museum ive got a chapter on the Jewish Museum of tolerance and i and i talked very frankly in those two chapters of some of the black spots in russias history and i think what i felt as a former professional diplomat for thirty ye